Recap: Cavs 101, Pacers 97 (or, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)

The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their home stand Sunday afternoon with a matinee game against the Indiana Pacers. Neither team was close to 100% as the Cavaliers were missing J.R. Smith for the third consecutive game along with the already injured Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, while the Pacers were without Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles. After a cameo appearance by Jared Cunningham on Friday, Richard Jefferson was back in the starting lineup at shooting guard to keep LeBron James from having to guard Paul George. But missing some important players didn’t stop these two teams from playing an exciting—if somewhat ugly—game that had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

First Quarter

The Pacers went big to start the game with Jordan Hill at power forward. The Cavs got some good looks from deep early on, but other than a trey by Richard Jefferson the shots were not falling. At some point this team is going to go on a hot streak from deep and when they do other teams will pay the price. After that, the Cavaliers started going inside to take advantage of Jordan Hill, who is a terrible defender for a big man. Despite getting to the line three times early, the Cavs only led 10-8 Cavs after five minutes.

Indiana was doing a nice job of not letting the Cavaliers score at the rim, but they continued to give up open threes and, while Mo Williams was ice cold early, Kevin Love hit one from the right corner to give the Cavs a 13-10 lead. Paul George supplied almost all of the Pacers’ offense with nine early points as Indiana took a 16-13 lead. The Cavs spent the last four minutes of the game in the bonus, but were unable to use it to their advantage.

A Jared Cunningham three gave the Cavaliers a 24-22 lead after the first quarter as a late flurry by both teams pulled their shooting percentages into the forties.

Second Quarter

The highlight of the second quarter came just two minutes in when Timofey Mozgov hit a three from the right corner!

The shock was too much for the Cavs as they then allowed George Hill to stroll right to the rim. The Cavs continued to attack the rim, but the Pacers used a combination of physical play and outright fouls to keep them from converting. The Cavaliers took a 34-28 lead, but the Pacers came right back to tie it at 34. Myles Turner came off the bench to give Indiana’s offense a jolt. He torched the Cavaliers’ big men with his turnaround jumper, making each of his first three shots. LeBron James was able to score well inside but, after rediscovering his jumper Friday night against the Sixers, struggled again from outside. The brick fest continued and, while the Cavaliers shooting percentages plummeted, the Pacers weren’t much better. Still, Indiana managed to take a 40-36 lead until a DELLY TREY pulled the Cavaliers to within one. A clear path foul by George sent LeBron to the line and he sank both to give the Cavaliers a 43-42 lead with 1:27 remaining. LeBron then hit a long two and Tristan Thompson cleaned up a miss by the King to give the Cavaliers a 47-42 lead at the half. LeBron led the troops with 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Paul George had 15 points seven rebounds, and two assists for the Pacers.

Third Quarter

The Pacers came out of the half on fire and immediately wiped out the Cavaliers lead. Indiana then took a brief four point lead themselves which the Cavaliers quickly erased. Along the way, LeBron missed a pair of free throws to make him 2-6 from the line. The teams continued to exchange the lead until a three by Williams and a Delly floater put the Cavs up 64-58, causing Frank Vogel to call a time out. After Mo mistimed a lob pass to Thompson, Delly showed him how it was done for an and-one lob to  TT. The Cavaliers put together a 7-0 run that game them a 71-60 lead. Chase Budinger hit a three to pull the Pacers to within six, but LeBron responded.

Official Joey Crawford was accompanied by team trainers back to the Cavaliers dressing room, leaving the game with just two officials. The Pacers then went on a late 13-3 run to pull within one and the Cavaliers led 74-73 going into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter

The Cavaliers started the quarter with a Mo-Delly-Jefferson-Love-TT lineup while LBJ got some rest. Thompson scored with a turnaround jumper and Mo hit a three from the right corner to give the Cavaliers a 79-73 lead. Still, the Pacers wouldn’t go away. Love hit a three then slammed home a cross court pass from Mo to keep the lead at seven. Jefferson stole the ball and scored to push the lead to nine, but a run by the Pacers—combined with a couple of non-calls by the officials on a pair of Jefferson drives— trimmed the Cavaliers’ lead down to one at 88-87. After a timeout, LeBron was hammered at the rim for no call and Monta Ellis hit a three in the left corner to give the Pacers a 90-88 lead. LeBron (finally) hit a pair of free throws to tie it and Thompson hit a bunny to regain the lead at 92-90. LeBron then got a make up call on a drive to the rim and the Pacers called time out before he went to the line. LeBron split the pair, but got right back to the line to hit two more and give the Cavs a five point lead. After a bad iso-drive by LeBron with Love wide open in the corner, Monta Ellis drew a foul to pull the Pacers within three with 44.3 seconds left. David Blatt called time. The Cavs scored when LeBron whipped a pass to Kevin Love under the rim. It was far from over, though, as George hit a three over a lunging Thompson to pull the Pacers within two with 18 seconds left. The Cavs then did an amazing job of passing the ball just ahead of the Pacers’ defense—which oddly tried for the steal instead of a foul to send the Cavs to the line—until Love pushed the lead back to four with eight seconds left on a wide open dunk. George Hill then hit a quick layup to pull Indiana back within two. LeBron was then fouled by George, but hit both his free throws to make it 101-97. The Pacers were able to get a shot off but couldn’t score or draw a foul and the Cavs held on for the win.

The Good

• LeBron James and Kevin Love combined for 51 points, 25 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. It’s nice to have superstars on your favorite basketball team.
• Tristan Thompson has 16 points on eight shots to go along with eight rebounds and two steals. He is pretty clearly the Cavs’ best role player.
• Paul George had 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. It’s good for the league that he’s back to his superstar form. It’s also good for my Cavs: The Fantasy League Team, so nyaah.

The Bad

• LeBron was 0-3 from deep and 9-14 at the free throw line. He got better as the game went on, but his shot is not where it needs to be.

The Ugly

• Anderson Varejao got his first DNP-CD in as long as I can remember. It’s not so much ugly as it is kind of sad.
• I was watching the game with my kids while my wife was out with friends. They did a great job of letting their dad watch the game and rooting along with me, but if I missed something obvious, blame it on them.

The Cavaliers wrap up their home stand on Tuesday when the Utah Jazz come to town. The Jazz are currently 4-2 with a very good point differential of +8.3, and there’s no doubt that they will present a real test for the Cavaliers. Until then, we can all savor this afternoon’s hard-fought victory.